Friends pay tribute to 'lovely guy': London cyclist killed in Woodford Green, while two more are fighting for their lives after crashes

Kevin Lane: Died at the 'dangerous' junction of Woodford High Road and Forest Approach Main picture: Google Street View Kevin Lane a cyclist who died in a road traffic collision. Copy picture from Go Ahead Northumberland Park bus garage. (best Quality Available).
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REF: Nigel Howard

The first cyclist to die on London’s roads this year was today described as a “lovely, popular guy who was always smiling”.

Bus depot director Kevin Lane, 52, was hit by a car at a “dangerous” crossing in Woodford Green on Sunday.

It came before two other serious crashes yesterday which left two more cyclists fighting for their lives.

Mr Lane, a “very safe rider” who worked as a CCTV operator at a bus depot in Northumberland Park, Tottenham, was knocked down at 1.30pm at the junction of Woodford High Road and Forest Approach.

Paramedics rushed to the scene but he could not be saved.

The driver of the car, believed to be an elderly woman, stopped at the crash and was not arrested.

A close friend said: “He was a lovely guy and was very popular around here. He was always smiling. The bus industry is a strange life where you can go years chatting to someone without knowing their name but everyone knew Kevin’s name.

“We worked together for eight years. He was an enthusiastic cyclist and would come to work every day by bike and he encouraged me to cycle in too. He was a very safer rider. I’m so shocked that this could have happened to him.”

David Cutts, operations director at Go-Ahead, the company that runs the bus depot, said: “We were shocked and saddened to learn of the death of our employee. He had worked for the company for 13 years. He was a regular cyclist who loved the sport. He will be missed by his colleagues and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Relative Charlie Lane, who lives in Maryland in the US, wrote on Twitter: “It’s times like these that I wish I knew family better - RIP Kevin Lane.”

A woman whose house overlooks where the accident happened said: “It was very traumatic to watch. I looked out to see a lot of police and ambulance crew.

“He was under the car and they were working on him for quite a while on the ground.

“There have been about six fatal accidents outside our house in the last 20 years. The crossing is so dangerous. New lighting was brought in about 18 months ago but it still needs to be improved.”

A spokesman for the Met said prosecuting the driver “cannot be ruled out categorically” at this stage, but it would depend on new evidence coming to light.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information should call police on 0208 597 4874.

Yesterday a 69-year-old man suffered severe head injuries following a bike accident in Chiswick and was being treated in St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

A 53-year-old male cyclist was also in a critical condition in hospital today after colliding with a car at a roundabout in South Woodford yesterdy.